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The market is not an invention of capitalism. It has existed for centuries. It is an invention of civilization.

— Mikhail Gorbachev

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Notes from Wikiquote

As quoted in The Guardian [London] (21 June 1990)

Variants

The market came with the dawn of civilization and it is not an invention of capitalism. … If it leads to improving the well-being of the people there is no contradiction with socialism.

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Capitalism

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Attribution

Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: Mikhail Gorbachev (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.